Kenya- Kind of

Some people wonder what in the world a homeschool
schedule might look like. I recently found this template on http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/ to visualize ours. Of course, this is the ideal schedule. For summer, we had a lot more play dates and field trips come up that adjust this quite a bit, but most of the time this is what we're going for, especially when Colin begins preschool soon. You might notice the school day ends officially around 2:30. That's on our longer days. We might be finished a lot sooner  depending on the day. Personal Play/Reading means each kid gets time with me alone. This is one of their favorite things, and it's great for bonding. Then I've still got  at least 2 1/2 hours still to fill before Dax gets home! This family isn't the best at just hanging out and relaxing. We need to learn to be!  I'm still working on consistency in those afternoon hours because it can get quite chaotic and honestly sometimes I'm out of ideas and definitely out of energy. I also go out to teach lessons Monday and Tuesday evenings, so I have to reserve a little for those kids, too. 

In any case, this shows what we're covering. They've found a YouTube Yoga channel for kids they like and this will be great for getting their mind and body ready for the day. Math and piano definitely work best early in the morning when their focus is best.We often save unit studies for after lunch when they've had a mental break and most of the written work is behind them. And of course we do a lot of work on the go simply to fit in that ever important socialization and Christian education, which can too easily end up on the back burner if I let it. For Math and Reading I have a variety of books we rotate through to cover all the skills. I'm having the most trouble keeping up with activities for Colin because the girls work as a pair so well and have moved on from Letter and Number Activities. For unit studies I still use the Five in a Row curriculum. We are running out of books on that list, so I'm beginning to put together my own units and now know what qualities to look for when choosing books. We'll also start working from a science curriculum I found and begin some Charlotte Mason books. I had no idea how many options were out there when I began this journey. It's so overwhelming, but fun at the same time. Thank goodness for my mom, a wonderfully revered public school teacher, who always offers advice and resources.

 We studied Kenya this week. Can you tell? No? We read Chir Chir is Singing, a really sweet book about a Kenyan girl who wishes to help all her family members with their traditional chores, but ends up finding that watching the baby and singing are the most helpful. After gluing our flag onto the world map and locating Nairobi, we watched a video on Kenya from the library. We also learned about the Great Rift Valley, something I knew little about before. So the lunch above is my strange version of the Rift Valley. There's a cranberry- applesauce volcano in the middle. The sandwiches are the land that has torn apart. The rest I told them was animals and trees : )

We also used a wet paper towel to show the "tearing" land and its wrinkles.

 We watched a couple of videos about the landscape, but they also insisted on a professor's hour long power point project on the tectonic plates under Africa. They actually listened for quite awhile and later Colin said some things that were directly from the video. You never know what they'll absorb.

We did the ever popular baking soda-vinegar volcano. I told them to smile so they automatically did this.

It worked...a little bit. But they were completely thrilled, so that's what counts. And yes, they do get dressed in the morning. This is in the afternoon when Chloe decided to get ready for bed.

Here are our Kenyan masks-  I'm still laughing. : ) They added geometric shapes based on the example images and used colors from the Kenyan flag. Colin only wanted black. The final result is interesting to say the least!  They also wrote down various customs they noticed were different from ours.

I started leaving these out for the kids in the morning. They got brand new writing notebooks and when they wake up, they find a writing prompt waiting. This saves me from the door slamming and crazy messes before I wake up! They love it so far. Colin is allowed to scribble whatever he likes. The first morning he was proud of a line he drew with a ruler. The next day he drew his first dog.

Colin's L for Lizard. He loves hanging these letters in his room.

After reading several more story books based on Kenya, we threw these comprehension beach balls. When you catch it, you read the question asking about the setting, main characters, plot, etc.

Usually kids like to curl up on the couch or bed to read. Here's Chloe's favorite reading spot.

We had fun with a letter recognition Bingo game with suckers for prizes.

Hannah completed her first official composition. This is her final draft of Volcanoes and Ninjas. At first I thought it said Volcano Sand Ninjas.

The girls' art cracks me up. They are only interested in drawing people all lined up. Chloe's usually have a variety of dress and hairstyles. The other day she drew a scene of women getting ready for a wedding who were all unhappy with their crazy hairdos.

I love how Hannah puts the script in bubbles and then lets us know they're there. She recently drew a picture of a group of kids getting reprimanded by a teacher for making fun of a kid with crutches. Where they get this stuff, I have no idea.

I don't know about you, but this gives me pause before walking down the hall.

Finally, here are the ever entertaining Kid Quotes. They were on a roll this week.

H- Colin said "I hate you"  but then I saw he was just talking to his hand.
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Colin checked out a ton of books about pirates. I asked them all what Daddy's pirate name should be.
Captain Smelly Foot was the immediate suggestion. : )
Mine?
Captain Seriously and Captain Bossy Yeller-  :/ 
Chloe also suggested Whirlpool, which I didn't get until I saw I was standing by the microwave.

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On a walk, the girls discussed looking for the sweet brown face of a lost dog on a poster. Colin said, "Well, I'm going to look for the whole body."
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M- Colin, it looks like you need to go to the potty.
C- Nope. It's just a fun dance.
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Colin asked for a little brother, but he wants it to be a mouse named Bad Guy. Hmm. No thanks.
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Chloe- In my experience, ants like to eat everything.  (The poor girl has stepped in way too many red ant hills).
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D- Colin, you weigh 37 lbs.
C- Of blood?
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An elderly lady will be moving and leaving our parish soon. She leaned over and whispered that she would miss seeing our children grow up. Colin looked at her and said, "You're getting old."
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H- Uh oh, Chloe's in there cleaning the bathroom and spraying cinnamon all over the place with the door closed. Come smell this crack!!     (yes, my mind went there)
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